1.Field of Invention
The invention relates to the field of small boats. More particularly, it relates to canoes or other open-hulled boats that have a pointed bow, pointed stern, or both. More particularly still, the invention relates to storage compartments that can be installed on said boats.
2. Description of Prior Art
In the field of canoeing, there is an ancient and well-known device, the xe2x80x9cwanigan,xe2x80x9d for carrying items in a secure fashion within the vessel while it is underway. A wanigan typically is a wooden box having a rectangular cross-section and a hinged or removable lid and, sometimes, equipped with carrying handles on the sides. The wanigan is filled with items that are to be taken along on the voyage, and then it is placed within the canoe, typically in a manner permitting its bottom to rests directly on the floor of the canoe.
A number of patents have issued for canoe storage compartments that are essentially modifications of the traditional wanigan design. Linnell, II et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,623) describes a travel box for a canoe that differs very little from the traditional wanigan design aside from the addition of a storable panel that may be attached to the edge of the box and used as a table. Linnell, II et al. lacks any means of securing the box immovably to the canoe. The securing means taught be Linnell, II et al. consist of flexible loop handles attached to the box and deployed by passing them around the canoe thwarts or struts would not prevent the box from shifting while the canoe is underway, a potentially serious hazard. Also, the box of Linnell, II et al. appears not to make efficient use of the space within the canoe, its exterior shape not conforming sufficiently with the inner shape of the hull. In fact, the shape of the box taught by Linnell, II et al. requires that the box be placed in the middle portion of the canoe (xe2x80x9camidshipsxe2x80x9d) where passengers typically sit, thus interfering with the full use of the canoe. Finally, the box disclosed by Linnell, II et al. extends above the canoe""s gunwales, a circumstance that not only raises the center of mass of the canoe+load (with the concomitant degrading of stability), but also can interfere with the paddling.
Mathleu (U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,488) describes an insulated cooler box intended for use within a canoe and which avoids some of the problems set out above. The box taught by Mathleu is tapered longitudinally, narrowing toward the rear (the end intended to be proximal to one end or the other of the canoe), and is equipped with a metal channel along each of the upper, outside edges. This configuration allows the box to be mounted on and suspended from the flanges extending inboard from the two gunwales, and then slid toward an end of the canoe, such that its tapered shape fits snugly against the inside of the hull so as to hold It securely in place. While the box of Mathleu does permit the container to be rigidly mounted within the canoe, its shape does not appear to be directed toward fitting it into either the extreme fore or aft of the vessel, the most unused spaces In a canoe. Furthermore, by its nature, it mounts in the canoe in such a way that its metal channels rest atop the gunwales, again creating the potential for Interference with the paddle. Furthermore, the above-the-gunwales mount means that the center-of-mass height of the canoe/box combination is not minimized.
Shay (U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,642) describes a carrying case that can be mounted within a canoe. The case described by Shay is designed to fit over the center thwart of the canoe, and is held in place by several mechanical latches fastened to the flange of the canoe. This case described by Shay is designed so that the upper portion of the case extends several inches above the gunwales of the canoe. The complexity of the mechanism for securing this invention limits the convenience of its use. In addition, its position astride one of the canoe""s thwarts is undesirable because of center-of-mass height considerations.
Carlson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,289) describes a storage compartment intended for mounting within a canoe. In use, the compartment described by Carlson sits crosswise in the center of the canoe, being held in place by screw clamps affixing it to the gunwales. The compartment of Carlson has the disadvantage of not being easily mounted or removed from the canoe. In addition, its shape prevents it from making efficient use of space and causing it to sit high within the canoe, to the detriment of center of mass height.
A more recently disclosed storage compartment intended for use within a canoe is taught by Salathe (U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,061). It is shaped to fit within a canoe, thus improving the use of space, but is intended to be held in place simply by gravity. Skid pads affixed to the bottom of the Salathe box to reduce the likelihood of its sliding along the bottom of the canoe. In addition to being shaped to conform more with hull shape, the Salathe box is presented as doubling as a seat for a canoeist. While it may play such a role In those canoes that do not feature integral seats, it will be rather awkward to use in the majority of canoes that already have a seat for the canoeist. Use of the Salathe box in a canoe already equipped with one or more seats would require either the removal of one of those seats, or the Installation of the box in a location away from the seats. Furthermore, there is a question of whether, even in a canoe where the Salathe box can serve as a seat, the box is so high that it will raise the center of mass of the canoeist above what it would otherwise be.
A wanigan design described by Hanna et al. (U.S. Pat. No. D294, 659) discloses novel ornamental elements for a container intended for use within a canoe, but does not suggest functional features of such a container and hence does not offer solutions to the problems noted above in the utilitarian prior art.
Therefore, what is needed is a canoe box with which to convey securely and without water damage all of the items that a canoeist might wish to transport. What is further needed is such a box that is easy to affix to and to remove from a canoe and that, once affixed will not shift with the motion of the canoe. What is yet further needed is such a box that makes efficient use of the space within a canoe without constraining the canoe hull from flexing, and does not interfere with the comfort of canoe passengers or the efficiency of the paddling of the canoe. Finally, what is needed is such a box that once affixed to a canoe will remain affixed should the canoe capsize and will serve as additional flotation for a capsized or swamped canoe.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage container (alternately referred to herein as a box) that is readily affixable to and removable from the regions of a watercraft that contain the space that is least valuable to the users of the watercraft. It is a further object to provide such a container that when affixed in those regions it does not interfere the occupants of the watercraft, nor, when the watercraft is a canoe, with the paddling nor the seaworthiness of the canoe. (Although for definiteness, the watercraft will be referred to as a canoe from this point forward, it is to be understood that the present invention has equal applicability to any boat presenting a bow or stern configuration generally similar to that of a canoe.) It is a yet further object that the canoe box of this invention does not raise the center of mass of the canoe plus contents once it is in place.
These objects are met by producing a box that it will fit snugly into either the bow or stem of the canoe for which it is intended, something that to first order requires that the box be tapered from front to rear in conformance with the shape of the canoe hull near its extremities. Although there are some variations in this shape when one looks at the entire universe of canoes, one canoe feature that is constant across most of that universe is the presence of gunwale flanges (alternately denotable as lips, ridges, or rims) that extend inboard from the outer gunwale edges. The box of the present invention makes use of those flanges and the typical shape of the bow of a canoe, being itself shaped so that it can be reversibly inserted into a tight fit in the bow.
The basic idea underlying the invention can be seen from a description of how it is secured in place in the bow of a canoe. First, it lowered to the bottom of the boat as close to the bow as can be done without the gunwale ridges getting in the way of the lowering, with the narrow end of the box (the xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d) facing the bow. If the items to be transported have not already been placed inside the container, the top of the container, which in the Preferred Embodiment is a lid hingedly attached to the top of the container""s wide end, is lifted and the items to be carried placed inside. The lid is then lowered and the box pushed forward along the canoe bottom as far as it will go. As the box moves forward, the shape of the canoe bottom causes it to rise upward, so that as its narrow end (rear) nears the very front of the canoe, its lid begins to press against the undersides of the gunwale flanges. When this happens, the forward movement of the box is brought to a halt, the box having become wedged between the flanges and the bottom of the canoe. Because of the shape of the canoe hull, the contact between the box and the bottom of the canoe is limited to the outer edges of the bottom of the box (its base). This is important, since this minimal contact leaves the major part bulk of the hull free to flex in response to forces imposed on the canoe by its environment while underway under various water conditions, as the canoe is designed to do.
Some embodiments of the invention include a box-securing strap affixed to the narrow end of the box with the free end of this strap available to be looped through a lifting handle such as those located in the bow and stem of most canoes. This provides extra security against movement of the box, in addition to that provided by the friction fit of the box between the bottom of the hull and the gunwales. That is, it is added security against the box sliding out of the bow under the stresses of rough water conditions or longitudinal forces exerted on the box while it is being portaged while still affixed in the bow. As another backup security measure in some embodiments one or more lid-securing straps are affixed to the narrow end of the box, with provision made to buckle these one or more straps onto the lid itself. By this method, the lid can be held tightly shut even if the gunwale flanges are not holding it down. Some type of lid-securing approach is a practical necessity for carrying the container separately from the canoe during portages; however, it may not be necessary while the container is fixed in place in the canoe, the manner In which the container is secured into the canoe effectively holding the lid tightly closed. Indeed, in those embodiments provided with thermal insulation on the Inside of the container and a sealing gasket around the perimeter of the lid, the container provides a water-tight, thermally insulated environment for its contents, once it is secured in the canoe. These watertight embodiments also provide the advantage of added buoyancy (xe2x80x9cflotationxe2x80x9d), helpful in the event of capsizing or swamping of the canoe.
In its Preferred Embodiment, the canoe box also has shoulder straps to facilitate its being carried on the back by one of the canoeists during portages. Alternatively, and most useful If a person is canoeing alone, the box can be left secured in the canoe during portages, eliminating its removal and re-insertion and possibly eliminating the need for a second trip by the canoeist along the portage path. Finally, it is noted that for those circumstances where a larger load must be carried in the canoe than can be accommodated in a single one of these boxes, the canoeist can use two of them, one affixed in the bow and the other in the stern, the method of affixing in the stem being identical to that used for the bow.